You're all going to hate me for this.
Oliver Queen has only ever been jealous twice in his life since leaving the island.
The first, when Tommy told him that he and Laurel were dating. He'd congratulated them, of course, been happy for them, even. But there was a twinge in his heart whenever he visited them, seeing the glowing look in Laurel's eyes and the smile on Tommy's face.
It took him a while to realise that he wasn't jealous of Tommy being with Laurel, he was jealous of what Tommy had with Laurel.
Oliver had had his fare share of girlfriends, one-night stands. But since becoming the vigilante, well, romance wasn't the first thing on his mind.
It wasn't until he saw the way Felicity Smoak looked at Barry Allen when he felt a second twinge of jealousy. But this was different, so different from the one he had felt with Tommy and Laurel.
He loved Laurel, at least he thought he did, but the feelings he had for the blonde-haired IT girl ran much deeper than that. A type of love even he couldn't explain, not even with poems or Mandarin.
He never said anything, of course. How could he risk what they already had? Just having her friendship was precious enough. And even though Diggle told him over and over again that if he didn't tell her soon, he'd lose her for good, Oliver said nothing, did nothing. Just watched Felicity's smile and listened to her laughs and saw the blushes paint her cheeks every time Barry called.
And it wasn't until much later, when Felicity had a ring on her finger, that Oliver realized exactly what he had lost.
No shade to Barry whatsoever. I freaking love him bc hOW CUTE IS HE. Just don't ship him with Felicity.